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Not sure I believe this. Why would this be? Above all the other places in the world? Is it history? Or architecture? Or people or food? Tokyo is amazing for food and history and architecture. There are many cities in South America that have awesome sights and food and history, the history of people not of industry. Africa too. So how do you determine that those 3 cities are "it". BTW I live in NJ I work in Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn. There isn't a lot particularly spectacular about NYC anymore. Its extremely expensive and smells bad and is very crowded and dirty. The food is decent but mostly being taken over by chain restaurants you can find anywhere because minimum wage has ruined a lot of small business. It is beautiful though. Even the stereotypical times sq experience has been ruined by costumed characters and men selling cds. You have to work a lot harder to find those eclectic off the beaten path experiences that NYC used to be known for, and impossible without a reservation
BTW I live in NJ I work in Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn. There isn't a lot particularly spectacular about NYC anymore. Its extremely expensive and smells bad and is very crowded and dirty. The food is decent but mostly being taken over by chain restaurants you can find anywhere because minimum wage has ruined a lot of small business. It is beautiful though. Even the stereotypical times sq experience has been ruined by costumed characters and men selling cds. You have to work a lot harder to find those eclectic off the beaten path experiences that NYC used to be known for, and impossible without a reservation
As someone who spends just about every weekend in New York, this isn't true at all, minus the part about Times Square. I never have a reservation for anything either.
Note, Paris, New York, and London are must sees but also some of the most expensive cities in the world and forget going in the summer if you want to be swamped by tour buses. Some of my best experiences have been offseason i.e. Anchorage, Alaska in December; Dubai in September, Bangkok in July
Same here! Discovering the beautiful cities of Eastern Europe has been eye opening for me. It's amazing to me that I had never even heard of many of these cities until 5-6 years ago. They're awesome!
Not sure I believe this. Why would this be?..... BTW I live in NJ I work in Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn. There isn't a lot particularly spectacular about NYC anymore. Its extremely expensive and smells bad and is very crowded and dirty. The food is decent but mostly being taken over by chain restaurants you can find anywhere because minimum wage has ruined a lot of small business. It is beautiful though. Even the stereotypical times sq experience has been ruined by costumed characters and men selling cds. You have to work a lot harder to find those eclectic off the beaten path experiences that NYC used to be known for, and impossible without a reservation
BTW I live in Queens, lived in Brooklyn & also 2 different Long Island suburban counties & spent 20+ years working in Manhattan. You statement is ridiculous, anyone with eyes can confirm that. You may not LIKE NYC - most of my friends & family who also live in sterile outer suburbs don't particularly either, ... but because YOU don't like something to say:"....Its extremely expensive and smells bad and is very crowded and dirty. The food is decent but mostly being taken over by chain restaurants you can find anywhere because minimum wage has ruined a lot of small business.... " is mostly fiction.
OK, I'll grant one thing, it is "very crowded". Yes, because it is a CITY, not a suburb, by definition a lot of people live here like London & Paris too. OK and expensive too, especially hotels, but so much more can be had for cheap or free if one just does a bit of homework first, like any other venture in life when one doesn't know much about the new endeavor.
And your remark about "minimum wage" says enough to reveal a lot & warrant no further comment.
True if one spends their time around Time Square & doesn't do any research about where they are they will be surrounded by chain restaurants, but if one wanders away from there to any residential areas you will find where non tourists eat & play, that isn't working particularly harder. Within a 10 minute walk from my own front door I have a choice of 3 Turkish restaurants; innumerable Latin joints including Peru, Columbia & even Paraquay; 6-8 Irish pubs; 3-4 Thai eateries along with several Korean & a new Ramen bar... this is only a few within a short walk & none are chains - except for the 2 Korean cafe/bakeries. All run by folks from the "old country". And this is just a fraction of what's available, no Chilis or Ruby Tuesdays or Pizza Huts or Red Lobsters... unless you just circle cluelessly around midtown.
I do disagree with the OP's original premise in that Rome should be added to that list & probably Tokyo too.
Also nothing is a "must-visit" for everybody any more than everybody should read books or pay attention to their finances or what their government is doing. It would enrich people's lives & help broaden their horizons & even perhaps make them a bit smarter, but a lot of people seem to lack curiosity & are content with being self-satisfied & want to just hear things that confirm & reinforce what they already want to believe about the world. Just my experience at this point in a long life.
I’d put Rome above all three of those. Don’t get me wrong, I love New York, London and Paris too. Heck, I go to New York a few times a year. However you just can’t compare the history and architecture of Rome compared to the others. I was just in Rome last week (third time). I’ll never tire of it.
This is about as relevant as the "must-haves" the fashion mavens tell me I have to add to my wardrobe every season.
I've been to all 3, multiple times. Yes, there are some wonderful major landmarks, but many have long lines and are crowded even in the off-season. I've been to Paris 3 times- still haven't been up in the Eiffel Tower. My next European destination is likely to be Munich as a base, with day trips elsewhere. I LOVE Eastern Europe. I gravitate now to the "second-tier" cities- Edinburgh, Munich, Budapest... certainly not second-tier in terms of the experience, but not the ones every package tour hits. I also tend to wander a lot and just people-watch and enjoy the architecture, find local events of interest rather than the mega-museums, and pick up most of my meals in the local grocery stores. I'm very glad I've already been to the Tower of London, took the full tour of Westminster Abbey in 1994, visited the Louvre and the d'Orsay (never again- both were chaos). There's so much else to see and do!
Have you been to Kraków? If not I highly recommend.
I don't know if they are "must see" cities but London and Paris yes, NYC I dunno. NYC is crowded, smelly, expensive, can be uppity/have attitude, and when I've been there I had more then a few occasions where I felt unsafe as a woman just walking from one place to another. I also don't find it to be particularly beautiful or astonishing aesthetically. But Paris and London - yes definitely if you can go, go. And eat a lot! lol Leave any stupid diet you might be on at home and just gorge yourself.
Have you been to Kraków? If not I highly recommend.
Thanks for the recommendation! Not yet, but I'd love to add another country to my list.
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if I ever go to Europe,
